Fairtrade Coalition Meeting This Friday – 6th January – 5.30pm

Dear all

Happy New Year. I hope you have had a enjoyable Christmas time. Let me take this first message of the year to thank you for all your support for Fair Trade in Oxford in 2011, which was another good year for us. Recent feedback from the Fairtrade Foundation on our recertification as a Fairtrade City included much praise for the diversity of activities to promote Fairtrade taking place in Oxford, from community groups to local retailers; and the City’s current Corporate Plan consultation (http://bit.ly/vdealy) includes positive recognition of the work of many coalition members in developing Oxford as a hub of shared learning around Fairtrade, including with our recent EU seminar. Your support for Fairtrade continues to make a difference to producers across the world – showing how alternative models of trading can promote fairness, environmental sustainability and development.

And with Fairtrade Fortnight 2012 fast approaching, we’re also looking forward to the coming year. Sabita Banerji (07773949787 / yourfairtradecity) is working part time with the coalition over the coming months to help create a directory of all activities for Fairtrade Fortnight, to help catalyse new activities, and to support promotion of your plans – and on this Friday, 6th January, we’ll be meeting at the Town Hall (room tbc. please check e-mails on Thursday) at 5.30 to get all plans fully underway.

This is likely to be our main Fairtrade Fortnight planning meeting, as many coalition members are travelling and away from Oxford over January and early February, so please join us if you can. The agenda will also include updates on our Fairtrade Finder mobile phone application that is under development, and plans for an AGM and speaker event in April for World Fair Trade Day.

New members and visitors are welcome to all meetings. We are particularly keen to find volunteers with time to offer between now and March to support Fairtrade Fortnight activities.

We will aim to keep the meeting brief, and will retire to the Old Tom pub following the meeting for those who want to join some more informal conversation on plans for the coming year.

If you can’t make the meeting, but have news on Fairtrade Fortnight plans, please do get in touch with Sabita, and check out the details on our website at http://www.oxfairtrade.org.uk